Internet protocol (IP) address semantics represent both the location and the identity (ID) of a node. The IP address is often used to identify a session and is expected to be fixed for the session duration. However, mobile nodes may have a change of address when they relocate or change network access (e.g., from Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) to cellular). Therefore, it is difficult to implement mobility of nodes and keep a session continuity with remote sites when the nodes rely on IP addresses for sessions. Some IP solutions, such as Mobile Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), Mobile Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), Proxy mobile IP, Distributed Mobility Management (DMM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) work around this limitation using the mobility anchor concept to keep the IP address fixed and rely on re-forwarding of traffic. These solutions usually introduce latency due to triangular routing of the packets to the anchor and then the final destination. Other solutions use the identity and location separation concept and a map server to determine where to forward the traffic, such as in Locator/ID Separation Protocol (LISP). For example, LISP relies on Route Locator (RLOC) address to identify the end point address and an End Point Identifier (EID) to represent the ID to be used in the session. Because the ID is fixed during the session, the movement and change of IP address is transparent to the session and above applications.
Most existing solutions treat the mobility of nodes as something that is unpredictable and random. Therefore, existing solutions often offer sub-optimal routing, usually with a rerouting through a mobility anchor or using similar concepts or by introducing latency when mapping servers update the RLOC to reflect a new location. As such, the latency requirements for new communications standards such as the 5th Generation mobile standard (5G), which may be five milliseconds (ms) or less, will be difficult for the existing solutions to meet.